


Tasting Better than Winter

by thekeyholder



Category: Muse
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Christmas Fluff, Friendship/Love, M/M, Prompt Fill, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 22:50:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2205978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekeyholder/pseuds/thekeyholder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the following prompt on mkmeme: <i>First snowfall of the year, teen!belldom, everyone's getting excited but the boys just love running around in it, watching it fall, make Matt sing or do something stupid like that, catching snowflakes on their tongues and leading to kissing as the snow falls around them. As it's first snow, the ground would just be wet so no rolling around in the snow :')<br/>Bonus points if they're not together at the start of the fic, but the ~magic of Christmas~ brings them together, lol.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Tasting Better than Winter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ashamedbliss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashamedbliss/gifts).



> Posting a Christmas fic in August... nice one! *pats self on the shoulder*
> 
> Originally posted in December 2010 on my LJ.

Dominic rubbed his eyes sleepily and put the novel he was reading on the nightstand. He felt pleasantly tired and decided to go to bed, so after a few moments he slipped out of the warm covers and turned off the light. However, the blonde boy noticed the yellowish glow coming from the neighbouring house and he sneaked to the window, hoping that he would find out what they were up to at such a late hour.

The sight didn’t surprise Dominic, but his heart sank; his neighbour, classmate and, at the same time, his best friend sat stock-still at the window, pale hands cupping his own face. His name was Matthew and his blue eyes never ceased to gaze at the starless sky, despite the evident tiredness reflected in them. Dominic knew that his friend wasn’t waiting a spectacular view of a falling star or a lunar eclipse, but something simpler, however very endearing. He only found out about what bothered Matthew a few days ago, and he remembered their conversation at the time.

__

_ “Hey Matt, why are you pulling a long face? It’s the last day of school, cheer up!” Dominic said, patting the brunet’s shoulder when he met his friend in front of their classroom. _

__

_ “Yeah, I know, but it’s already the 19th of December and we still don’t have any snow!” Matt yammered, and continued his complaint: “I hoped that this year we would have snow even before Christmas. Dude, how can I get in the mood if everything around me is unchanged?!” Matt stopped puckering his lips only when his friend nodded slightly in understanding. _

However, Dominic was convinced that the Christmas spirit could not be only created by snowflakes; in his opinion it was a sentiment of love and gratitude that grew in one’s heart. Even though he wasn’t keen on snow, the boy’s prayer was the following that night:

“Dear God, please send us some snow, just a tiny bit of snow. You know, those tiny, frozen water crystals. We haven’t had snow for two years and I think you’d make my friend, Matt, extremely happy. Pretty please?”

No sooner had Dominic finished his petition than sleepiness overcame him.

* * * * *

The next morning when Dom opened his eyes, a bit of hope made his stomach to clutch, but he felt deceived when the world outside wasn’t fabulously white as he’d expected. His slow and constrained movements didn’t pass unnoticed, therefore his mother didn’t bug him with chores. There was a feeling of smothering in the atmosphere that lay heavily on him; he tried to watch a funny TV show and to read a science magazine, but just ended up wandering all about the house; absolutely nothing could engross him. His mother, who was baking gingerbread, furrowed her brows at her son’s weird behaviour and sent him upstairs to have a little nap. Dominic complied grudgingly, though when he finally enjoyed the softness of the bed he had to admit that it was a good idea. Within minutes he nodded off peacefully.

* * * * *

“Dom, Dom, wake up!”

_ What the heck is this noise? I’ll just sleep further… _

“Oi, sleepy-head! Wake up, IT’S SNOWING!” a joyful voice squealed ever louder.

The bed bounced with the blonde boy, and he felt something warm that placed itself on his thighs and shook his shoulders gently. Fragile, brown eyelashes quivered as Dominic adjusted to the light and set his eyes on the well-known face of Matt. He grinned involuntarily at the honest and childish excitement written on his friend’s face; Dom’s grey eyes also lit up affectionately and they looked at each other until they heard the voice of Mrs. Howard, Dom’s mother, who interrupted their silent staring competition.

“Boys, I assume you want to go out, right?”

Both nodded eagerly. Dominic stretched himself and moaned like a kitten while he thanked gratefully in his mind for the first snowfall. He came back to earth when a long finger poked him in the ribs.

“Maaaatt!” he whined and glowered at his friend who continued to snicker.

“Hurry up, dude, the snow will melt by the time you get out of bed,” the brunet said while he looked out of the window.

“Matthew is right, sweetie,” his mum approved, “you should go and play now because I want you to be back for lunch. Okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” the boys replied while they ran downstairs.

Dominic found his boots and put them on while Matt was already buttoning his coat. By the time Dominic wrapped his long neck in a soft, teal scarf, his friend tapped his left foot on the floor very impatiently, especially that the blonde boy ignored his pressings.  When his friend stepped to the mirror to arrange his fluffy hair, Matt couldn’t wait any more. He went up to Dom, snatched the matching teal cap out of his grasp and quickly pulled it over the fair locks.

“Come on, we have no time to waste! Or it’ll waste us!” Matthew cackled as he took hold of Dom’s forearm and dragged him outside.

They only stopped at the back of the huge garden to catch their breath and Dom could finally take a good look at the winter landscape. This was a relatively sheltered place; they lived in the margin of the village which was surrounded by a majestic sight of trees covered with a delicate layer of _powdered sugar_. He span around slowly and took in the breathtaking sight while Matt was cavorting on the country lane, his outstretched arms touching briefly the frosty shrubs just to assure himself that he wasn’t dreaming this. Dominic’s heart gave such a jump that he felt the spontaneous need to thank the gods for the unexpected surprise for them both. He clasped his cold hands and sighed silent, but honest words of thanks. He thought nobody heard him and therefore Matt’s following question startled him greatly.

“Thanks for what, Blondie?”

“M-Matthew, I didn’t know you were so close,” Dominic stuttered, awkwardly shifting from one foot to another and bowed his head to hide his flushed cheeks.

“Aw, come on, Dom, you can tell me,” the brunet spoke with silkiness tinting his voice, stopping in front of his friend, who looked at him with eyes wide with curiosity and hope.

His heart skipped a beat when Matthew lifted his hand, but he couldn’t be more deceived when the brunet brashly rubbed his cheeks with a handful of fresh snow, and then dashed away, burbling with laughter. Matthew thought Dom would chase him and they would run around like they always did, but instead the blonde boy remained in the same spot with his head bowed, focusing on the glittering ground.

He paced back carefully and halted beside Dominic, who didn’t even look up at him. Matthew gulped audibly, a bitter taste spreading in his mouth. He gently tugged on the arm of Dominic’s grey winter coat and whined imploringly.

“Dominic, hey… what’s the matter? Talk to me, Dommy, I hate it when you’re upset!”

The snow continued to fall peacefully, but Dom’s heart hid a violent snowstorm of feelings. He only dared a glimpse at the concerned face of his blue-eyed neighbour, though that was enough to make him shiver.

“Dooom, are you upset because I threw snow at you?” Matt asked apprehensively, and he bit his nails while waiting for the answer.

Dom shook his head and covered his face with his hands. He was _so_ confused… Gathering all his courage, he let his hands fall; however, he lifted up his eyes to the pale sky and spoke hesitantly.

“I-I… just noticed that you were so sad lately. You weren’t pleased even when the winter holiday started, though you absolutely hate school,” Dominic paused and closed his eyes.

Matthew looked at him with wide eyes. He didn’t have to wait much for the continuation:

“And-and yesterday night you stared at that damn sky for hours, and I knew that you’d be devastated if it didn’t snow soon. So I, man, this is so awkward, I prayed that your wish would be fulfilled… “

“… and it worked,” Matthew completed with a huge grin plastered on his face. Though, his eyes were shinier than usual, proving that his friend’s gesture touched him deeper; it struck a very sensitive chord in his heart.

The tumult of emotions bubbled in him with such fervor; he became fidgety and slurred random ideas to a now smiling Dom:

“Oh, Dommy, you’re the best! How could I thank you? I’ve never had such an amazing friend as you. Hey, would you like me to sing something?”

Matthew didn’t wait for his friend’s answer (which would have been positive anyway), he started pirouetting around Dominic and he surprised him with a song he composed on the spot:

_ “Pretty snow is falling today _

_ And many many thanks I say _

_ To the blonde in front of me _

_ The god of snow, my Dommy!” _

They broke out into rollicking laughter, both teenagers so weak they had to sit down on a large rock with their backs to each other. They could both feel each other’s panting and body heat, although it was soothing and not disturbing or annoying. A few moments later, they remarked that the snowflakes dancing around them had definitely become bigger than the previous ones, stirring them to both simultaneously look up to the sky. Now their bodies were perfectly united, starting from their little bums through their spinal columns and finishing with their covered heads. They were each other’s support no matter what.

Two pairs of eyes were squinting at the pale sky which drizzled over them with fine snowflakes, determined to cover all and sundry. The incessant rhythm of the minuscule frozen crystals made them forget about everything; they were two souls in the eternal pureness of the snow’s whiteness.

Dominic got up on his feet and his friend turned back instantly at the loss of warmth pressed against him:

“Hey, where do you go?”

“To _taste winter_ ,” came the blonde’s odd answer which drew a confused expression on Matt’s face.

The mystery was solved when he saw Dominic bouncing with his pink tongue stuck out, trying to catch the fast snowflakes. Oh, he didn’t want to miss this, it looked so fun!

“I’m going to beat you at this, you know?” Matt noticed while hopping on one foot and he showed his sharp tongue out of his mouth.

“Yeah, right,” Dominic snorted, and pointed to a giant snowflake: “only with that catch I gain at least twenty points.”

Their funny banter went on for minutes, neither of them caring about making it a fair game: they pushed each other and appealed to all kind of tricks just to taste the biggest snowflakes. Dominic was so sure he would win this game and waited for the last frozen flake calmly, however Matt filched it under his nose.

The blonde could only gasp in shock and Matt danced a few seconds for his unequalled victory. He was approaching Dom with eyes that twinkled with joy and a smirk which softened to a kind smile as there were merely inches between them. Without warning, Matthew leaned in and his tongue brushed against Dominic’s full lips.

Realizing what he’d just done, the brunet came up with an excuse: “T-there was this absolutely big s-snowflake…”

Matthew’s flushed cheeks resembled Dominic’s who felt about uncertainly in the air until he found the pale fingers he wanted to hold so much. He looked shyly into the blue eyes which fascinated him since his early childhood, and whispered his question: “Did I taste as good as winter?”

Matt closed the distance between them and entwined their trembling fingers.

“No,” Dom’s face fell a little, but the brunet continued: “you tasted much better.”

They started pecking softly, coy smiles interrupting the touch of their cold lips. Matthew brought up his hands and cupped Dom’s face, the blonde wreathing his arms around the brunet. Matt first kissed Dominic’s red nose, which prompted a giggle from both of them, and then they finally kissed properly in the middle of a snow scene worthy of any fairytale, protected by the warmth of their thick clothes.

They hugged each other even more tightly when they broke the sweet kiss. Matthew rubbed his nose against Dom’s and breathed:

“Dommy… I believe you’re not the only one whose prayers have been answered.”

The round-eyed blonde asked him to continue while he pressed Matt’s cold palms against his hot cheeks.

“You see, as you prayed for snow in my name, I asked for, rather selfishly, a kiss from you… even for your love,” Matthew’s voice trailed off, and he kissed the little head that nestled in the crook of his neck.

“You needn’t have asked for it, it was always yours,” the delicious words delighted the brunet greatly, and he stole another kiss from those full lips.

”I love you, Dommy. Merry Christmas!”

“I love you too, Matty. Merry Christmas!” 


End file.
